A Zululand family were in a spin this week after finding a large black mamba curled up in their washing machine. And Margie Taylor and her son Andrew had to resort to desperate measures to remove the highly venomous snake from their top-loader on Tuesday afternoon. The family live on a property aptly named 'Inyoka' or 'snake farm', about 14km from Empangeni. Taylor fortunately spotted the snake through the clear lid, wrapped around the top of the drum, before she opened the machine.

'We had no idea how it got into the washing machine as we have fine chicken wire on the bottom of the machine to prevent rats from eating the wires. The domestic worker had done a load of washing in the morning and closed the top of the machine', she said. After attempting to get hold of her husband David and a local snake catcher, Taylor made a plan. 'I put the machine on spin dry and waited. There was a lot of banging and clonking, but when the machine stopped we opened the lid with trepidation.'

'The snake was now suspended over the detergent container, looking dazed and confused, but still alive,' said Taylor. By then David was home and the Taylor family carefully unplugged the washing machine and dragged it outside. 'We flicked the lid open, but nothing happened. Usually mambas move really fast, but the snake was obviously stunned,' said Taylor. David then used a wire coathanger to hook the snake out of the machine and Andrew shot it.

This would bring a new meaning to, "Cleaning out the shorts"! I have seen only one snake in my three trips to Africa. __________________________________________________________________________________________________

This would bring a new meaning to, "Cleaning out the shorts"! I have seen only one snake in my three trips to Africa. __________________________________________________________________________________________________

by this point, just select 3 - 7 letters, put them together in any given order and I am probably a lifetime member

Hunted:

US, Canada, Mexico

Okay, this is the very first story on AH that I can say just totally creeped me out

changing locations, if that had been a rattlesnake at the ranch we would have been in the market for a new washer because I would have shot that thing with everything I could get my hands on and had ammo for!

The people of Southern Africa are way too subtle about things like this for my taste!

The Spin Cycle!. . . . that was the fall back position? . . . . these people are certifiable

in my world situations like this call for a stun grenade and an MP-5 . . . . not "the spin cycle"

Marge Taylor has more nerve than a 17 year old ZETA with a new Kalashnikov